The Spanish tapas of blogs-a little dash of mummy-hood, a spoon-full of life overseas as an expat wife, and a dollop of humor to top it all off. And it's always happy hour somewhere, right?

30 Pounds

What would you take with you if you had 30 pounds to put into a suitcase and leave your home, perhaps forever? Family photos, your child’s art work, beloved stuffed animals, letters, journals-how on earth would you decide what makes the cut? And what would you do if you had under 24 hours to do it? How would you remember that last moment before you turned the key to lock your door for the last time?

American/Italian friends came over to dinner last night who were evacuated on a UN flight from the Côte D’Ivore due to a looming civil war. Scary stuff, especially with four kids and a new-born baby.

This family, through all of the chaotic events of the past few months, manages to remain focused on what they DO have-their family, their health, and their friends. Incredible grace under fire. And they are even, unbelievably, able to continue to find humor in their situation in order to ease the stress and find some normalcy for the sake of their kids. I have never seen such resilience and calm before and I cannot imagine how I would react if this were to happen to me.

With all of the natural disasters going on around the globe as well as man-made destruction (war, civil unrest and the displacement of innocent people), I am still hopeful. Hopeful because there are people through all of this who are humanitarians and still see the good in folks. People like our friends who had to flee the Côte D’Ivoire, but who are still grateful to have something positive to look back on during their time in this war-torn country-the birth of their son. People who have potentially lost everything, but immediately comment on how thankful they are to have only lost material possessions. Thankful.